The a to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants (17 page)

elegans
Schult.f.
el
-i-ganz. Coral drops. Lat. elegant.

Beta
L. (Amaranthaceae).
bee
-tuh. The Lat. name. 12 spp. herbs. Eur., Medit.

vulgaris
L. vul-
gar
-ris. Beetroot, sugarbeet. Lat. common.

betony
Stachys officinalis

Betula
L. (Betulaceae).
bet
-ew-luh. Birch. From the Lat. name. 35 spp., trees, shrubs. N hemisph.

albosinensis
Burkill. al-boh-sin-
en
-sis. Lat. white, of China (i.e., the Chinese white birch). W China. var.
septentrionalis
C. K. Schneid. septen-tree-oh-
nah
-lis. Lat. northern.

alleghaniensis
Britton. al-ee-gan-ee-
en
-sis. Yellow birch. Of the Allegheny Mts. E USA, E Canada.

ermanii
Cham. er-
man
-ee-ee. Erman birch. After German physicist Georg Adolf Erman (1806–1877), who collected it in Kamchatka. NE Asia.

fontinalis
Sarg. =
B. occidentalis

jacquemontii
Spach =
B. utilis
var.
jacquemontii

lenta
L.
len
-tuh. Cherry birch, sweet birch. Lat. flexible (the shoots). E USA, E Canada.

lutea
Michx. =
B. alleghaniensis

maximowicziana
Reg. max-im-ohvich-
ee
-ah-nuh. Monarch birch. After Carl Johann Maximowicz (1827–1891), Russian botanist. Japan.

nana
L.
nah
-nuh. Dwarf birch. Lat. dwarf. N Eur., NE Canada, Greenland.

nigra
L.
nie
-gruh. Red birch, river birch. Lat. black (bark of mature trees). E USA.

occidentalis
Hook. ok-si-den-
tah
-lis. Water birch. Lat. western. W USA, W Canada.

papyrifera
Marshall. pa-pi-
ri
-fe-ruh. Paper birch. Lat. bearing paper (the bark). N USA, Canada.

pendula
Roth.
pen
-dew-luh. Silver birch. Lat. pendulous (the shoots). Eur., N Asia.

platyphylla
Suk. plat-ee-
fil
-uh. Gk. broad-leaved. NE Asia.

populifolia
Marshall. pop-ew-li-
foh
-lee-uh. Grey birch. Lat. with leaves like
Populus
. NE USA, SE Canada.

pubescens
Ehrh. pew-
bes
-uhnz. Downy birch. Lat. hairy. Eur., N Asia.

utilis
D. Don.
ew
-ti-lis. Himalayan birch. Lat. useful (the bark and wood). Himal., China. var.
jacquemontii
(Spach) H. J. P. Winkl. jak-
mont
-ee-ee. After French botanist and geologist Victor Jacquemont (1801–1832), who collected the type specimen.

Bidens
L. (Asteraceae).
bee
-duhnz. Lat. with two teeth, referring to the fruit. 200 spp., herbs, shrubs, climbers. Widespread.

aurea
(Aiton) Sherff.
aw
-ree-uh. Arizona beggarticks. Lat. golden (the flowers). S USA, Mex., C Am.

cernua
L.
sern
-ew-uh. Nodding beggarticks. Lat. nodding. Eur., W Asia.

frondosa
L. fron-
doh
-suh. Devil’s beggarticks. Lat. leafy. USA, E Canada.

heterophylla
Ortega =
B. aurea

Bignonia
L. (Bignoniaceae). big-
noh
-nee-uh. After Jean-Paul Bignon (1662–1743), librarian to King Louis
XIV of France. 28 spp. climbers. Warm and trop. Am.

capreolata
L. kap-ree-oh-
lah
-tuh. Crossvine. Lat. bearing tendrils. SE USA.

Billardiera
Sm. (Pittosporaceae). bil-ar-dee-
e
-ruh. After French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de La Billardiere (1755–1834). 24 spp. climbers. Australia.

heterophylla
(Lindl.) L. Cayzer & Crisp. het-uh-
rof
-i-luh. Bluebell creeper. Gk. with variable leaves. SW Australia.

longiflora
Lab. long-gi-
flaw
-ruh. Lat. long-flowered. Tasmania.

birch
Betula
.
cherry
B. lenta
.
downy
B. pubescens
.
dwarf
B. nana
.
Erman
B. ermanii
.
grey
B. populifolia
.
Himalayan
B. utilis
.
monarch
B. maximowicziana
.
paper
B. papyrifera
.
red
B. nigra
.
river
B. nigra
.
silver
B. pendula
.
sweet
B. lenta
.
water
B. occidentalis
.
yellow
B. alleghaniensis

bird of paradise flower
Strelitzia reginae

bird of paradise shrub
Caesalpinia gilliesii

bird’s eyes
Gilia tricolor

bird’s foot trefoil
Lotus corniculatus

bishop’s mitre
Epimedium

bistort
Persicaria bistorta

bitterbrush
Purshia tridentata

bittercress
Cardamine
.
coral-root
C. bulbifera

bitternut
Carya cordiformis

bitterroot
Lewisia rediviva

bittersweet, American
Celastrus scandens
.
oriental
C. orbiculatus

black cumin
Nigella sativa

black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta, Thunbergia alata

black horehound
Ballota nigra

black sarana
Fritillaria camschatcensis

blackberry
Rubus fruticosus

blackthorn
Prunus spinosa

blackwood
Acacia melanoxylon

bladder senna
Colutea arborescens

bladdernut
Staphylea
.
American
S. trifolia

blanket flower
Gaillardia

blazing star
Chamaelirium luteum, Liatris, Mentzelia

bleeding heart
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
.
Pacific
Dicentra formosa

bleeding heart vine
Clerodendrum thomsoniae

Blechnum
L. (Blechnaceae).
blek
-noom. From Gk. name of a fern. 180 spp. ferns. Widespread.

chilense
(Kaulf.) Mett. chi-
len
-see. Of Chile. Chile, Argentina.

discolor
(G. Forst.) Keys.
dis
-ko-lor. Crown fern. Lat. two-coloured (the fronds). NZ.

fluviatile
(R. Br.) Salom. flue-vee-
a
-tilee. Lat. of rivers. SE Australia, NZ.

magellanicum
(Hook.) Mett. maj-uh-
lan
-i-koom. Of the Magellan reg. Tierra del Fuego, Falklands.

novae-zelandiae
T. C. Chambers & P. A. Farrant.
noh
-vie-zee-
lan
-dee-ie. Of New Zealand. NZ.

nudum
(Labill.) Mett. ex Luerss.
new
-doom. Fishbone water fern. Lat. naked (the frond stalks). Australia.

penna-marina
(Poir.) Kuhn.
pen
-uh-
ma
-ri-nuh. Dwarf hard fern. Lat. sea pen (which the fronds resemble). Australia, S Am., NZ.

spicant
(L.) Roth.
spee
-kuhnt. Deer fern, hard fern. Lat. tufted. Eur., Asia, W USA, W Canada.

tabulare
(Thunb.) Kuhn. tab-ew-
lah
-ree. Lat. of Table Mt., where it was first collected. S Africa.

Bletilla
Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae). blet-
il
-uh. Diminutive of the related
Bletia
(after Louis Blet, 18th-cent. Spanish apothecary). 5 spp. orchids. E and SE Asia.

striata
(Thunb.) Rchb.f. stree-
ah
-tuh. Lat. striped (the pleated leaves). China, Korea, Japan.

bloodflower
Asclepias curassavica

bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis

blue mistflower
Conoclinium coelestinum

blue star creeper
Lobelia pedunculata

blue thimble flower
Gilia capitata

bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
.
California
Phacelia campanularia
.
Scottish
Campanula rotundifolia
.
Spanish
Hyacinthoides hispanica

bluebell creeper
Billardiera heterophylla

blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
.
lowbush
V. angustifolium
.
New Zealand
Dianella nigra

blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
.
creeping
C. thyrsiflorus
var.
repens

blue-eyed grass
Sisyrinchium bermudiana

blue-eyed Mary
Omphalodes verna

bluejoint
Calamagrostis canadensis

bluestar
Amsonia

bluestem, big
Andropogon gerardii
.
bushy
A. glomeratus.
little
Schizachyrium scoparium

bluets
Houstonia caerulea

Boenninghausenia
Rchb. ex Meissn. (Rutaceae). bur-ning-how-
zen
-ee-uh. After Clemens Maria Franz Freiherr (Baron) von Bönninghausen (1785–1864), Dutch lawyer and botanist. 1 sp., shrub. E Asia.

albiflora
(Hook.) Meissn. al-bi-
flaw
-ruh. Lat. white-flowered.

bog arum
Calla palustris

bog myrtle
Myrica gale

bogbean
Menyanthes trifoliata

Bolboschoenus
(Asch.) Palla (Cyperaceae). bol-boh-
skeen
-oos. Bulrushes. Gk. bulb reed, referring to the corms. 14 spp. perenn. herbs. Widespread.

fluviatilis
(Torr.) Soják. flue-vee-
at
-ilis. Lat. of rivers. N Am., N Mex., E Australia, NZ.

maritimus
(L.) Palla. muh-
rit
-i-moos. Lat. of the sea (it often grows on coasts).

Boltonia
L’Hér. (Asteraceae). bowl-
toh
-nee-uh. After James Bolton (1758–1799), English botanist. 6 spp. herbs. N Am.